Monday, September 21, 2015

DTD Update: Entrance & Parking Pics

Concept art for the giant entryway building into Disney Springs was previously posted and is designed to look like a city hall administrative-type building.

And that appears to be what is being constructed directly across from the Downtown DisneySpeedway station.

The Disney-owned but incorporated cities of Lake Buena Vista, Florida and Bay Lake, Florida have never had their own city hall. Wonder if they will have a presence in here or whether this will just be more retail.

This round tower is actually in a retail building that appears to be behind the city hall building.

Side view of the new Lime (East) Garage under construction.

As seen from our exclusive SkyCam, the overview shows this garage being constructed in three sections just like the Orange (West) Garage was.

With the third section of the garage just now getting underway. You can also get a better view of that round building we mentioned earlier here. Why stay home when you can come out to Downtown Disney and see this all for yourself!

5 comments:

"...to look like a city hall administrative-type building." Not very exciting, it reminds me of the Millennia Mall. But this is just the first look, so I'll be patient. I wonder what Universal is thinking about all this? It's Disney's big City Walk and PI killer all in one!

I think you're right (in the HOB/Service Industry Night cancellation post a day or so ago) that Disney wants the $85-dinner guests instead of the low-budget types. The only problem is that they are gradually pricing themselves out of the market. Some guests have quietly had to cut their trips to Disney by 50% because of the increased costs. On the other hand, the still-growing demand will get Disney by for a few more years. But if that bubble were to burst, it could really be embarrassing. Unless, of course, all of this new development has a dual-purpose, such as being able to someday be integrated into a entirely new theme park or something like that. Hmmmmm... Makes me think...

It does kind of look like Millenia. Some of the stores from Millenia are opening or have already opened second locations down there. They are trying to keep more money on property so their guests won't travel out to the mall to spend money. They can shop, eat, drink and hopefully party right on property. They seem to be targeting the Millenia clientele, rather than Florida Mall or outlet people, which goes back to $85 dinners. It will be interesting what kind of hits Millenia will take and what other retailers Millenia might have up their sleeves to keep getting people to come off property.

DJMadManRay - good points. And one possible irony is that a future Disney management team may decide the "mall" concept is not working or is undesirable or unprofitable, and they could flip back and build clubs again. That would be hilarious! Of course this would take 20 years to happen, and we'd all be using walkers and wheelchairs by then, but we'd know how to have fun!

From another perspective, look at the mall they built at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. It's connected to the casino and hotel complex, and it features some animatronic entertainment on a grand scale, and it is a tourist draw because it is so unique. Sure, it's been around for 25 or so years, but maybe we'll see a very themed and entertaining mall at Disney Springs despite the fact that this sort of environment has already been done at several other malls around the globe. Now Disney comes along, builds something similar, but adds a few "rides" or shows into the venue. Wouldn't that be consistent with the Imagineering eye on "plussing" things? If they're gonna actually build a "boring" mall, my thinking is that they would have to go one step further and make it NOT boring. Only time will tell, as there sure haven't been any reliable leaks about other concepts for the project.

The Springs themselves will be the namesake and icon to the place. I don't think this shopping center will ever fail. Some individual stores may come and go just like they always have in Downtown Disney but overall I expect money to be pouring in. FN, I do agree with you that they have priced themselves out of the market for a lot of people.